Timothy l



TQL. BOSART. FIFTH WHEEL.

(No Model.)

No. 503,643. Patented Aug. 2z, 189s.

w/nvEssEs.-

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

TIMOTHY L. BOSART, OF INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA, ASSIGNOP TO THE YARYAN FIFTH WHEEL COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

FIFTH-WHEEL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 503,643, dated August 22, 1893.

` Application led March 28, 1893. Serial No. 467,952. (No model.)

To a/ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, TIMOTHY L. BosAEr, a citizen of the United States, residing at Indianapolis,in the county of Marion and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and.useful Improvements in Fifth-Wheels, of which the following is a specification.

My present invention relates to that class of fifth-wheels shown and described in Letters Patent of the United States No. 471,806, issued upon my application March 29,1892; and it consists in certain improvements upon the construction therein shown, all as will be hereinafter more particularly described and claimed.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, which are made a part hereof, and on which similar letters of reference indicate similar parts, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a fifthwheel attached to fragments or portions of the running gear of the vehicle; Fig. 2 a central sectional View of the same; Fig. 3 a fragmentary under side plan, and Fig. 4 a horizontal sectional view looking upwardly from the dotted line 4 4 in Fig. 2.

In said drawings the portions marked A represent the axle of the vehicle; B the bolster; O the reach; D the king-bolt, and E E the reach-irons.

Upon the axle A is secured the lower fifthwheel part E and the axle-plate A2, and these are secured together and upon the axle by means of the clips A2. To the bolster is se` cured the upper fifth-wheel part B and the reach-iron E', the former by means of the clips B2. By means of a central projection b and a forwardly-extending portion e on the reachiron E, these two parts are enabled to be secured together by a stud-bolt S, which is preferably riveted fast in the portion e of the reach-iron, and secured to the upper fifthwheel part by a nut s. A cross-bar b extends between the extreme forward points of the upper fifth-wheel part.

Upon the axle-plate A2 in front of the kingbolt D is a lip or projection a2, which extends down through a semi-circular slot in an enlarged portion of the reach-iron E, as shown most plainly in Fig. 3. This lip a2 is not of any special service when the parts of the structure are all new, and all, especially the king-bolt, unworn; but when, after use, these parts become worn and loose, or the joints otherwise capable of movement, the surfaces of this lip and slot will come in contact, and

prevent or retard further wear. In other words, this construction is such, and the parts so adjusted, that the large surface of this semicircular lip may begin to receive and retard the Wear of the working parts soon after it begins.

The king-bolt D passes down through the several parts in much the same manner as shown in the aforementioned patent. The construction of the parts where they come together near the top or head of said king-bolt is, however, slightly varied. The upper fifthwheel part is thickened at this point, and the Opening therethrough tapers from the top toward the centerg-and a projection e on the reach-iron E enters this opening from the top, and a corresponding projection 0, on the lower fifth-wheel part enters it from the bottom, meeting in the center, as shown in Fig. 2; and the king-bolt, in passing down through the several parts, draws them together, or nearly together, and the tapering formation is adapted to enable the parts e and B to be forced into close and unyielding contact, thus Strengthening the union between them. There is a corresponding formation at the bottom between the projections e2 on the reach-iron E and the depression or opening in the under side of the axle-plate A2.

Havingthus fully described my said invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a fth-wheel, the combination of the axle-plate A2 having a lip a2, and a reach-iron E having a widened portion containing a semi-circular slot into which said lip extends, substantially as shown and described.

2. The combination, in a fifth-wheel, of the axle, the bolster, the fifth-wheel part A thickcned and having an opening therethrough, a projection on the ifth-wheel part A passing below and entering the same, and a projection on the reach-iron E passing above and entering the same, the projections thus approaching each other, and the king-bolt passing through the several parts, substantially as shown and described.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal, at Indianapolis, Indiana, this 21st day of March, A. D. 1893.

TIMOTHY L. BOSART. [L. s]

Witnesses:

CHESTER BRADFORD, JAMES A. WALSH.

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